Divorce lawyers are bracing themselves for their busiest day of the year today after holiday pressures take their toll.

InsideDivorce.com said that 19 per cent of 2,000 people it quizzed were thinking about divorce. Calls to Relate are up 50 per cent over Christmas.

In total 1.8million couples have considered dumping their partners over the holidays. And 42 per cent blamed their break-up on infidelity, 34 per cent on abuse, 29 per cent on boredom and 22 per cent sex starvation Three quarters of divorces are instigated by wives.

Derek Bedlow, of InsideDivorce.com, said: "Christmas is a nightmare for anyone with even a remotely shaky relationship. There are just so many opportunities for things to go badly."